The Path Back Home

[attr="class","parmtitle"]The protector

[attr="class","parmesan"]
Ravus had not felt very comfortable in that machine at first, sitting in the backseat and watching what Rina did with the controls the whole time. He had looked outside the window once, but immediately tried to focus on something else when he realized this thing had really brought them into space. He was baffled however how.. colorful it was outside. It almost looked like someone had painted their surroundings with washed up colors, shining in bright green, blue and white at some points. He had always imagined space to be as dark as the night... It was weird. They reached their destination after some time, the ship landing safely on what seemed to be the world called Planet.

Once they reached their destination, Rina would ask him a few questions first and give him important information about their location.

First, they are in what seemed to be a rather well-hidden place, which also meant they could be ambushed by monsters living nearby.

Second, the Beach was not far away from them how it seemed, only half an hour walk, so they are not to far away from help, should they get caught up into something. If they made enough noise in the dark, the people at Costa del Sol could hear them....

Third and most irritating one, Rina questioned his skills for combat. The commander raised an eyebrow at this, got up and looked at the blade on his hip.
“.. I should be fine.”

He sighed, stepping outside the ship with Rina and followed the girl, seeming to watch his surroundings rather carefully, one hand always at the blade.
“What kind of creatures could we encounter? I need to know what I might have to face. Is there something I need to know about the wildlife?”

[attr="class","parmtitle"]The protector

[attr="class","parmesan"]
Ravus didn't care that he was mostly dragging her, because of his height. A Marlboro was one of the most dangerous creatures that were not demons, at least in his home. Should it's breath get in contact with them, both would most likely not survive to tell the tale of their encounter. Ravus knew they were followed by the creature and it only made him sprint faster, holding a tight grip on the girl. However, it seemed the commander had forgotten to take one thing in account: The girl's shorter legs. She tripped and Ravus lost the grip as the Marlboro grabbed her and started to drag her back. He immediately tried to stop his sprint and take a turn, shock written on his face.
“Rina!”

He drew his sword, ready to come to her aid, when the girl suddenly summoned a weapon out of nowhere and stabbed the arm that held her tightly. She freed herself and continued to run, visibly limping now however, the Malboro seeming rather enraged by the pain if felt from the dagger. Ravus had to make sure that the girl could outrun the beast with that wound, so he decided to attack himself in hopes of slowing it down. He drew his sword, getting in position and scanned the creature for a weak point to slow it down. The thing about Malboro is the missing eyes you could target, but if it can't move correctly, fleeing can get easier. So he focused his eyes on the tentacles it used to move, his sword charging up with electricity. He waited till Rina passed him, before he would release the gathered energy in a slash that cut through air, hitting the Malboro at it connecting point of the tentacles. It was not enough to cut through the thick body, but it was cutting deep into it's flesh and what connected the tentacles together. The creature roared, seemingly losing balance and stumbling to the side. Ravus put his sword away after the attack hit it's mark and returned to his sprint, following Rina. He kept running, even after he couldn't hear the Malboro in the distance anymore, only stopping when he saw Rina slow down and her legs giving away. He rushed to her aid, kneeling down to check her foot.

His heterocromic eyes narrowed at her remark about the Malboro.
“I'm alright..”, he answered to her question, carefully checking her leg over, not caring if she wanted him to help or not.
“The Malboros I know are usually living in swamps.... they like the heat, as long as there is enough water in the air and food close by. Malboros living in a glacier is something I never heard off.”

Taking in the condition of her foot, he would sigh.
“It's not broken or any muscles crushed. You will be fine.”
Ravus offered his hand to the girl to help her up.
“Do you think you can continue to walk the rest to the town? Or do you want me to carry you?", the prince asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

[attr="class","parmtitle"]The protector

[attr="class","parmesan"]
Rina tried to hide her embarrassment from him, but Ravus saw the redness on her face and ears, even though she tried to hide it, the commander tilting his head slightly when she didn't take his aid to get up. She decided to rather walk without any help and Ravus did not stop her. He had seen that look on her face, knowing well not to push this right now. This is not his first encounter with a woman, after all and he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

Ravus was amused though how she tried to act all tough in front of him right now. The commander quietly followed her, keeping his thoughts to himself for now. The remark about the Malboro made him a bit worried though... What was this creature doing here?

As they reached Costa del Sol, Ravus found himself raise an eyebrow once more. This place looked like a rather popular vacation-spot, reminding him of the Galdin Quay a bit. It was night, but the air was still pretty warm, paired with the soft breeze of the ocean and smell of saltwater. Quietly, the man followed the woman to a door, waiting patiently behind her as she took things in her hands now.
It seemed she knew the person that owned the Inn, both acting like they were actually pretty close, exchanging kisses on the cheeks, Ravus turning his head away to give them a least a bit of privacy. He felt a little out of place, to be honest.

As soon as Rina started to move again, he would do the same, following her to what seemed to their place for the night. A cottage. Hm, it has been ages since he had last slept in something like this. 20 years tops. The girl led him to the two cottages they would sleep in tonight. She had been so kind to give them two separate apartments. It was nice knowing she valued privacy....
The pale man listened to her information, giving her a small nod and watching her disappear in her cottage for the night, remaining outside with the keys in his hand for a moment.
“... Good night.”, he would murmur, even though he knew she couldn't hear him anymore, the man turning to his cottage with a soft sigh. It was weird how similar this world and his was. Planet even had Marlboro... were these stars connected maybe? All of this sounded way to familiar and it made him a little uncomfortable.

Shaking the thought off, the man would enter his sleeping quarters for the night. He didn't really feel tired tough, so he took off his armor and went to the window of the bedroom, opening it fully and letting in the fresh breeze. He leaned outside, his face turned to the sky to watch the moon and all the stars in the sky. This place seemed so peaceful... Ravus couldn't help but think back to his home, wondering what was going on in Eos right now. Knowing that Ardyn seemed to be alive... had Noctis not been able to save their home from this evil? Had it fallen to the eternal darkness? He closed his eyes, feeling some emotions well up inside of him that were still fresh.

“Sister...”

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The sun was rising above the ocean slowly in the early morning hours, the first rays of light shining over the beach. Ravus was in his bed, still sleeping, when a sound softly shook him from his dreams. It was a howl in the distance. His eyes opened, the man groaning. He was about to close his eyes again and try to continue his sleep when the howl reached his ears again. Now he was fully awake, sitting up rather fast.. maybe to fast for his body right now, since he got a little dizzy from it. It sounded like a normal dog for others, but Ravus knew this howl. He blinked, jumping from his bed and sprinting to the window to look outside, searching for the source of the sound. He couldn't see a dog, but he could still hear it from somewhere at the beach. He put on his pants and boots and slammed the front door open, running down the street to get to the beach.